The indiscretion on the part of the former Minister of Youth and Sports, Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka, to acquire a visa and airlift one Edith Zenuela to Germany and later Cote d�Ivoire has caused him his job.
The Asawase MP was yesterday �forced� to tender in his resignation as the substantive Minister of Youth and Sports, after President Mills had officially received the report from the National Security, which investigated the allegation of financial malpractices leveled against him.
Though the report cleared the former Minister of any financial malpractices leveled against him by both the Chief director and Principal Accountant at the Ministry, the President was not happy with his decision to use his office to acquire a German visa and paid for the airfare of Zenuela. The President therefore directed that every pesewa spent on the lady should be refunded to government chest.
President Mills, however, commended Hon. Muntaka for the prudent financial measures that he put in place at the Ministry, which resulted in cutting down on waste and curtailing frivolous expenditure, and might have apparently led to the friction between him and some of the officials of the Ministry. A statement issued yesterday by the presidential spokesperson, Mahama Ayariga said both the Chief director and the Principal Accountant at the Ministry have also been interdicted. This was after they failed to provide proof that they indeed paid $20,000 to Hon. Muntaka.
According to Ayariga, though the duo collected the money on behalf of the Mnister, they could not provide the evidence that they in turn paid it back to the former Minister. They are therefore to refund the money to the state. The president has also directed that an audit be conducted into the accounts of the Sports Ministry from 2001 to date. Ayariga also used the opportunity to expatiate on the statement he had earlier issued on Joy FM yesterday, said if both the Principal Accountant and the Chief director are found culpable after the audit, they would be dealt with according to the laws of the country. He also noted that Muntaka could not be prosecuted for �causing financial loss to the state� because there is no evidence to support that.
Alhagi Muntaka also told the same network that he was grateful to Allah, after being prosecuted and jailed by the media, since the allegations were made public. He said he knew he would be exonerated after the investigations. According to him, during his tenure as Minister, he was able to save the nation a whopping $1.2m, which would otherwise have gone into individual pockets. He contended that the stringent measures he put in place did not go down well with some of the workers at the Ministry, hence the allegations that people ganged up and made against him. He thanked the President for not rushing to nail him, but took his time to investigate the allegations. He however admitted that it was indiscretion on his part to fly Zenuela to Germany. He however said his trip was sponsored by the international kit company, Puma.
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